Ketchikan, Alaska Native Cultural and Wildlife Adventure
Description
Broaden your horizons with Clan House Tours: We are an Alaskan Native (Haida) owned and operated guide service in beautiful Ketchikan, Alaska, specializing in small group tours that will enhance your knowledge about the rich culture and history of the Haida & Tlingit people. You can’t experience Ketchikan without spotting some wildlife, so we have 3 stops just for possible sightings of bears, salmon, and eagles. You will also learn all about the history behind the iconic totem poles of Alaska as we explore the Totem Bight Historical State Park and hear legendary stories that have been passed down for generations. All our vans are equipped with microphones so everyone can enjoy the great narration of everything Ketchikan and Haida. We will also show you what medicinal plants and berries are edible as we travel through the Rainforest in our comfy van. Traveling with us means no questions are left unanswered and that you leave Ketchikan satisfied with your cultural experience.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Ketchikan City Highlight's
Walk with us beneath the Tongass rainforest canopy on the short trail to the Clan House, where the forest itself becomes part of the story. Along the way, your guide will bring the rainforest ecosystem to life—towering trees, native plants, fungi, and the salmon that nourish this land and its people. Keep watch for ravens and eagles, who are often seen and heard in this area. At the Clan House, you’ll step inside a traditional home of a Clan leader and extended family, where history, identity, and teachings were passed from one generation to the next. Outside, the totem poles stand as carved stories in cedar. Here you’ll hear the story of the Devil Fish Pole and the Raven-Fog Woman Totem Pole, including how Fog Woman gave the people the gift of returning salmon each spring, summer, and fall. This is more than a walk through a historic site—it is a living story of forest, family, and culture.
This salmon ladder is an easy thing to miss in Ketchikan but don't! It really shows how the salmon have to fight th currenCityt to get to their spawning grounds. Best time to view the Salmon Spawn is June thru September. Our route travels on Park along Ketchikan Creek thru Tlighit Town passing by city park on our way to Herring Cove and other stops.
This famous bear viewing area is the perfect place to spot black bears and eagles fishing for salmon. There are many mother bears that bring their cubs here as well so be on the lookout!
A short stop at Creek Street with Historical facts of days gone before statehood.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Must be able to get in and out of a transit van with relative ease, a step stool is available
Reviews(336)
Our guide, (Beta); an indigenous young woman from Saxman Village shared her wisdom with great stories that she was given by the elders :"As they were told to her":! She was by far the highlight of my tour!
This was a disappointing tour. Our guide was very friendly, professional, and knowledgeable. Though not her fault, there was confusion with another guests reservations, “no show” guests requiring us to wait on them for 15 minutes, and traffic jam in parking area that all resulted in us losing about 20 min of our tour. The location of the included attractions are far. I felt like the majority of our time was spent riding in the van. We started at Totem Bright Park which was beautiful and interesting but was a long ride to get to. By the time we finally arrived there and everyone had to go to the restroom, it was already more than an hour into our 3 hr tour. We stayed there maybe 45 min to a hour. Then we had a long ride to Rotary Beach, but because of the delays we missed low tide and the only thing we saw were two tiny crabs. We were there maybe 10-15 min. which was too long with nothing to see. We then drove to Herring Cove that the description said we’d visit the “famous bear viewing area”. Everything I saw about HC when trying to decide which tour to book to see bears showed a long wooden boardwalk. It looked beautiful and a way to be close to the water, not crowded, and I’d get to go far enough in to see bears. This was the main attraction I wanted to see and why I booked. We pulled up to a small crowded parking area on the side of the road for our “viewing”. The guide said the boardwalk is private property and costs about $200 per person more to use. We saw no bears (which I fully understand is out of the guide’s control) and no salmon. I walked around the metal parking barricade trying to get a better view, but couldn’t see anything worth the time. We stayed maybe 15 min. We then drove back to town, past Creek Street, and pulled up to Salmon Ladder where we had the option to end our tour there or get dropped off at pickup location. We ended here and watched the salmon and explored Creek Street on our own. We spent 3 hours and other than the totem poles, felt like was a waste of our limited time in this beautiful town simply riding in a van. .
Thank you for your feedback. We’re glad you found your guide friendly and knowledgeable. Our policy requires guides to wait 10 minutes for late guests; additional delay resulted from parking-area traffic. Totem Bight and Herring Cove require travel from downtown. The private boardwalk is not included, and wildlife sightings cannot be guaranteed.
Excellent tour! Local tour guide was awesome. Most informative & personable. Highly recommended. Well organized.
Thank you so much for your wonderful review! We’re delighted you enjoyed the tour and found your local guide both informative and personable. Your recommendation means a great deal to our entire team!
Excellent tour and just the right length for a toddler to join along. Our guide was very knowledgeable and answered everyone’s questions. We did have an issue with our Viator reservation only showing 2 people on their records despite the ticket stating 4 people and being charged for all 4. Luckily there were enough seats on the bus for all of us in the end.
Thank you for your kind review! We’re so glad the tour was the perfect length for your family and that your toddler could enjoy the adventure too. It’s wonderful to hear that your guide was knowledgeable and answered everyone’s questions. We’re also glad we had enough seats to accommodate all four of you despite the Viator reservation discrepancy. Thank you for joining us!
Fantastic tour in a smaller coach. Our local tour guide, EchoHawk, was incredibly knowledgeable of the indigenous heritage and culture in Ketchikan and gave us a very personable and friendly afternoon. Would highly recommend over the larger, cruise line tours.
Thank you so much for your wonderful review! EchoHawk has a special gift for sharing Indigenous heritage and culture in a warm and personal way. We’re delighted you enjoyed the smaller-group experience and truly appreciate your recommendation!
Meta (her name) was excellent and very knowledgeable about her culture and the sites we visited. I selected this tour from several similar ones, because I wanted to support the native people of the area and felt they could provide insights not available on other tours — which I felt she did.
Thank you for choosing to support our Alaska Native-owned family business. We are blessed to have Meta on our team, and we’re delighted that her cultural knowledge and local insights made your experience so meaningful. We truly appreciate your thoughtful review!
Our tour guide Meta exceeded every expectation! She is so knowledgeable about Ketchikan’s land, history, wildlife, and people. She answered all our questions with detail. She was friendly, easy to talk to, and very engaging. I would highly recommend this tour, especially with Meta!
Thank you for this wonderful review! Meta is truly an exceptional guide, and we’re blessed to have her on our team. We’re delighted that her knowledge of Ketchikan’s land, history, wildlife, and people made your tour so memorable. We greatly appreciate your recommendation!
Meta was very knowledgeable and we learned a lot about the indigenous people in the area. We saw an Eagles nest, which was awesome and enjoyed the totem park. Would recommend this tour to anyone.
Thank you for your wonderful review! We’re blessed to have Meta on our team and are delighted that her cultural knowledge made your tour meaningful. Seeing an eagle’s nest and exploring Totem Bight are truly special experiences. We greatly appreciate your recommendation!
Dan was a very knowledgeable tour guide! He gave us an in depth history of Ketchikan and the native culture and customs. We visited the national Totem pole park which was super interesting, as well as getting to see the salmon that are spawning this time of year. We did go to a bear Lookout point and stayed for quite a while, but unfortunately, we had no bear sightings. Apparently we had missed a few of them earlier that morning. Unfortunately, these things are not planned so we were just out of luck in that respect. All in all, Dan was a wonderful tour guide and I would highly recommend him!
Thank you for your thoughtful review and kind words about Dan! We’re delighted you enjoyed learning about Ketchikan’s history, Alaska Native culture, and customs, as well as visiting Totem Bight and seeing the spawning salmon. Wildlife is never guaranteed, but we truly appreciate your understanding. Thank you for recommending Dan and Clan House Tours!
The offer seemed quite expensive in relation to what was provided. Unfortunately, the water bottle per person mentioned in the booking was not provided, and individual seat cushions on the bus were not clean. It was also noticeable that the bus did not stop at the announced end point of the tour, but the driver continued on without an announcement or goodbye. Perhaps there was a misunderstanding here, but for us, the situation was very unusual. Fortunately, our actual destination was not far away. On the other hand, the uncomplicated and flexible rebooking that we were able to take advantage of when our ship was delayed and we could not make the original appointment was very positive. That is why we are giving three stars – primarily because of this accommodating solution.
Thank you for your feedback. We were happy to accommodate you when your ship arrived late. It appears that a language barrier may have caused some confusion regarding the drop-off location and the driver’s instructions. We regret that the bottled water was overlooked and appreciate you bringing the seat cleanliness to our attention. Your comments will help us improve our communication and service for future guests.
